Packing apparatus



June 6, 1950 e. A. KR-AUSE ETAL PACKING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 12, 1946 INVENTORS GEORGE A. KRAUS E AUGUST GRUNEWALD ATTORNEY J 6, 1950 A. KRAUSE ET AL 2,510,343

PACKING APPARATUS Filed April 12, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 T I INVENTORS GEORGE A.KRAUSE AUGUST GRUNEWALD ATTORNEY Patented June 6, 1950 PACKING APPARATUS George A. Krause, Caldwell, and August Grunewald, Hoboken, N. J., assignors to Colgate- Palmolive-Peet Company, Jersey City, N. J., a

corporation of Delaware Application April 12, 1946, Serial No. 661,840

4 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to packing apparatus adapted for loading packages into a shipping case or container.

Packages of various commodities such as powdered soaps, prepared cereals and the like, are customarily packed for transportation in predetermined numbers in a shipping case or a container, which may be made of corrugated paper, wood or other suitable material. The

a such an apparatus requiring a minimum of manual labor and effort.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed deendless conveyor belt I is mounted at one end on a pulley 9 journaled in bearings on the under side of table I and at the other end on a similar' but driven pulley (not shown). The conveyor belt I is adapted to bring packages from a filling and closing machine to the loading table. Between the end of the conveyor belt and the opening 5 is a. frictionless run ll comprising a. plurality of rollers I3 journaled in the table I over which the packages may be moved with very lit-- tle eflort.

Two trays l5 having a flange l1 at each end thereof, are pivotally mounted in the opening 5 preferably somewhat below the level of the top of the table I. A convenien way of mounting the trays is shown in Fig. 4 which comprises a rod l9 secured to one edge of the tray and extending beyond the ends thereof through openings in support members 21 which form bearings for the ends of the rods. The support members 2| are secured to the under surface of table I. It will be seen in the drawings that the trays are pivoted for movement about an axis adjacent to opposite edges of the opening 5.

The trays are normally held in substantially scription of an illustrative embodiment taken in conjunction with the drawing in which:

Fig. 1 represents a front elevation, partly in section, of the packin apparatus;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a section in elevation along the line 33 of Fig. 1 looking to the left as indicated by the arrows; and

Fig. 4 is a detail plan view, partly in section, of the mechanism for tilting the trays.

Generally speaking, the apparatus of the present invention is a, device for gravity loading shipping cases with a plurality of packages. It comprises means for supporting a group of packages, means for holding a shipping case open at the top directly under the group of packages, and means for removing the support whereby the packages fall by gravity as a group into the shipping case.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing. reference numeral I represents a table supported at the rear by legs 3-and provided with a rectangular opening 5 which corresponds substantially to the internal dimensions of the cross section of the shipping case to be loaded. An

' treadle 31.

horizontal position as illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 4 and are capable of swinging downwardly through an angle of about to the position shown in Fig. 3.

Means are provided for moving the trays in unison comprising a bevel gear 23 securely fastened on the rod I9 of the back tray IS, a bevel gear 25 fixedly mounted on a short shaft 21 mounted in bearings 28 secured to the table I, and a second bevel gear 29 secured to the other end of the shaft 21 which meshes with a further bevel gear 3| fixedly mounted on rod IQ of the front tray IS.

A crank arm 33 is fixedly mounted on rod IQ of the back tray I5. A connecting rod 35 is pivoted at one end to crank arm 33 and at the other end to a treadle 31 which is pivoted to a bracket 39 on the framework of the machine by means of a pin 4| extending through the A bracket 43 mounted on the framework holds one end of a tension spring 45, the other end of which engages a collar 41 which is adjustablymounted on the connecting rod 35 as shown in Fig. 3.

A guide-member 49 in the form of an L-shaped 3 bracket is provided at each edge of the opening adjacent to the edges where the trays are mounted. The one at the right end in Figs. 1 and 4 is secured directly to the table I while the one at the left is secured to a bridge member 5| spanning the opening in the table provided for the rollers II.

The means for supporting a shipping case under the opening 5 comprises a frictionless run 5| having a plurality of rollers 53 mounted in angle iro'ns 55 which are suitably fastened to legs 3. The legs 3 have short posts 51 extending above the angle irons 55. Pairs of guide rods 59 are secured to the legs 3 and posts 51 as shown in Figs. 1 and 3 to assist in positioning a shippin case below opening 5.

The apparatus is adapted for operation by a single human operator who stands on the floor in front of the apparatus as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 so that the left foot is near the treadle 31. The conveyor belt I operates continuously to deliver the packages from the filling and closing machine onto the table I for loading into shipping cases. At the start of the operation, the operator places a shipping case on the frictionless run 5| between the guide bars 59 and directly below the opening 5. A preferred type of shipping case is shown in Fig. 3 by reference character 6|. It is made of corrugated paper and comprises four closing flaps at each end. The flaps at the bottom of the shipping case may be closed by the operator at the time it is placed on the frictionless run or they may be closed at any time prior thereto. The flaps at the top of the shipping case stand substantially upright and in moving the case under the opening 5 the flap on the leading side is bent down by the operator so as to clear the guides 49. As soon as the operator releases this flap it swings back to upright position against the outside of the guides 49 under the frictionless run II, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. It will be noted that there are no obstructions to interfere with the free movement of the operators arms during the positioning of the shipping case.

During the time the operator is positioning the shipping case the conveyor brings packages to the table and deposits them on the run I I. The slight pressure of packages arriving at the end of the conveyor suflices to push previously arrived packages along this run, and, depending upon the time taken by the operator to position the ship ping case, some 2 to 4 or 5 packages will be on the run. The operator, reaching to the left, groups the proper number between his hands as they are traveling to the right and slides them onto the back tray I5, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. In this instance six such packages are grouped face to face. A similar group is placed on the front tray I5 in the same manner.

The operator then steps on treadle 31 thereby swinging trays I5 downwardly to the position shown in Fig. 3. This action removes the support for the packages which fall as a group into the shipping case. The trays themselves serve as guides for the edges of the cartons while brackets 49 guide the faces. The shipping case shown in Fig. 3 holds two layers of packages. As soon as the first layer has dropped into the bottom of the case the operator releases the treadle permitting the spring 45 toreturn the trays to their horizontal position, locates a second group of 12 packages and drops them into the shipping case in the same manner; The filled case is then pushed on tothe left along the frictionless run I5 as shown in Fig. l, e. g.. to a conveyor to transport it to a sealing machine. Another shipping case is then moved into position. Packages which arrived at the table while the operator is removing the filled case and pushing a case to be filled ride along the frictionless run II in easy reach of the operator to group and place on the back tray.

The operation of the apparatus requires little effort on the part of the operator. The packages do not need to be lifted but can merely be slid along on the frictionless run II to the trays I5. The end flanges II on trays serve to locate the group endwise and the edge of the opening 5 serves to locate them crosswise. The spring 45 is of such size and is so adjusted as to keep the trays in substantially horizontal position when loaded but to require little effort to tilt the trays to the dumping position.

Although the present invention has been de-' scribed and illustrated in connection with a single illustrative embodiment, those skilled in the art will readily recognize that variations and modifications may be resorted to without deviating from the principle of the machine. example, if the shipping case were designed to contain a single tier of packages instead of a double tier as shown, a single tray in the opening 5 could be provided. Similarly the bevel gear device for effecting unison of movement in the two trays could be replaced by a linkage mechanism or other equivalent device. The invention also contemplates the use of other types of devices for moving the trays about their axes, for example, a solenoid could be substituted for the treadle 31 to be operated by a push button, or the like. Those and other modifications and variations are contemplated within the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In an apparatus for packing a shipping case, means for directing a group of packages into an open end of a shipping case comprising two oppositely located fixed vertical guides and two oppositely located hinged plates, said hinged plates being adapted in horizontal position to serve as a support for said group of packages and in vertical position to serve as guides therefor, spring means for holding said plates in horizontal position against the weight of packages thereon, and means under control of the operator for moving said plates from horizontal to vertical position.

2. Apparatus for packing a shipping case comprising a table having an opening, means under said table for holding a shipping case with an open upper end aligned with said opening, means comprising a tray pivoted adjacent one edge of said opening providing a removable support for a plurality of packages, spring means normally holding said tray in horizontal position, and means including a foot treadle for swinging said tray downwardly about its pivot to vertical position.

3. Apparatus comprising in combination a table having a rectangular opening, a conveyor belt adapted to deliver packages to said table, a fixed guide extending downwardly from each of two opposite edges of said opening, a plate pivoted for movement about an axis adjacent to each of the other two edges of said opening, means linking said plates for movement in unison, spring means for holding said plates in horizontal posi-' tion, means under control of the operator for moving said plates from horizontal to vertical position, and means for holding a shipping case Thus, for

8 a under said table with its open end aligned with said opening.

4. A packing apparatus comprising a table having an opening, a pair of plates hinged to said shipping case under said table with its open end l ed with said opening.

- GEORGE.- A. KRAUSE.

AUGUST GRUNEWALD.

REFERENCES 'crrnn ;.,The following references are of record in the tile 01 this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS liumber Name Date 1,045,391 Graf Nov. 26, 1912 1,295,197 Peters et al Feb. 25, 1919 296,802 Thompson Sept. 22. 1,9212 

